what's the best soil to use for a newbe

[BigBadStoner]

this mite be a really stupid question ?this is my second time growing and i don't know what soil to use or the mixture?

 

[admiralcornport]

Do you want something that has ferts in it or do you want to add the ferts as you water? Some people will add a ton of stuff to their soil and not add too much of anything when watering, others will have a very plain soil and add everything with water.

I would suggest any soil with at least half perlite added. It will dry out much faster than if you didn't add the extra perlite, that way you won't drown your plants.

 

[highonthechroni]

i would advise you to purchase (indoor) potting soil with no nutrients added and no wood/bark chips.

then buy yourself some perlite, and mix it with the soil about 1 part perlite for every 10 parts soil. perlite will help to drain and aerate the soil better.

start with 1/3 dosage nutrients when the fist round leaves (dicotyledons) start yellowing.

good luck

 

[Maj.PotHead]

yes like high said make sure its indoor potting soil personally i use this for veg and will for flowering


its homedepot supersoil potting soil 2 cubic yd for about 5$ us i add 2 bag perlite to each bag soil this =approx 60% perlite-soil



you really wont need nutes during veg start off in small containers and you'll be transplanting about every 2 wks till flower, theres plenty of nutes in this soil to last that long. i like to add 1.5-2 inch perlite in bottom of container before soil is added to pot .

 

[highonthechroni]

nice mix Maj.PotHead they must love all that O2!

 

[Maj.PotHead]

thx heres the what the soil is made of

ive used it twice now and have had only 1 problem on 1 plant outta 22 plants this time around. the problem was caused by me and my fert regiment

as for the cO2 yes plenty esp when i drill extra drainage holes in containers bottom he he and every 1.5-2 inch down the sides of the container. my pots look like some tweaker went nuts with a drill this allows me to water every 2 days if they go 3 days they look wilted and thirsty

 

[BigBadStoner]

thanks for the advice . what should i use for flowering

 

[highonthechroni]

what nutrients or what soil mix?

 

[BigBadStoner]

nutrients for the flowing cycle

 

[Diego]

keep it simple, maybe just use general hydro ferts for this grow until you feel safe adding complex organic ferts that are harder to control for first time growers. One thing I like to do for small scale indoor soil grows is put what you want to use in oven at 160 degrees ferenheit for 15 - 20 minutes to kill of any bad insect or molds that may erupt later on down the road when you dont want them. This step will enable you to focus on watering and fertilization, and chances of running into a mold or insect problem greatly decrease making it a an easier garden to maintain in the longrun. Then stick with the weakly weekly method until you feel confident with what your plants are able to eat. General Hydro works well with soil for starting off. If using organics us 1/16 strength on seedling till about 3 weeks old and gradually raise to full strenght in a time period from 1 - 3 weeks depending on what you think your plant will want.

 

[highonthechroni]

chemical - General Hydroponics Flora series is what i use, very simple and very good

organic - Biobizz, Pureblend, Dr. Hornby..

 

[Guacomole]

Fox Farms Ocean Forest is a begginers dream soil, great for experined growers as well. It is packed full of organic goodies all mixed at the appropiate proportions. Just add perlite and pick a good line of soluble organic ferts and you are guranteed some great bud, of course proper care an nurturing is always the deciding factor. Good luck.

 

[Maj.PotHead]

for nutes i use fox farm grow big during veg once a wk, big bloom tiger bloom during flowering every other watering. i start off @ 1/4 strength from directions on bottel and up dossage every wk to 3/4-full some plants dont like full strength except big bloom full strength its worm castings/guano trace minerals, all FF products that im using are organic based there are trace minerals copper zinc so on so forth in dossages the plant requires. when ya up the dossage watch the plants 1's that dont like the new dossage switch back to the lower dossage it liked. most local hydro shops carry them
grow big http://www.nationalgardenwholesale.com/detail.php?id=04_NS&prod=267
big bloom http://www.nationalgardenwholesale.com/detail.php?id=04_NS&prod=268
tiger bloom http://www.nationalgardenwholesale.com/detail.php?id=04_NS&prod=270
i also use at transplanting and once a wk in nute feeding diamond necture http://www.nationalgardenwholesale.com/detail.php?id=04_NS&prod=303
i use diamond necture the last 2 wks of flowering before flush as a foliar spray seems to make trics swell more. also 1 other side note grow big drops my water ph 0.5 havent tested tiger bloom yet but read it also drops ph

 

[BigBadStoner]

and i want the Ph to between 6.0 7.5 right

 

[Maj.PotHead]

and i want the Ph to between 6.0 7.5 right

Check Your Water - Crusty faucets and shower heads mean your water is "hard," usually due to too many minerals. Tap water with a TDS (total dissolved solids) level of more than around 200ppm (parts per million) is "hard" and should be looked into, especially if your plants have a chronic problem. Ask your water company for an analysis listing, which will usually list the pH, TDS, and mineral levels (as well as the pollutants, carcinogens, etc) for the tap water in your area. This is a common request, especially in this day and age, so it shouldn't raise an eyebrow. Regular water filters will not reduce a high TDS level, but the costlier reverse-osmosis units, distillers, and de-ionizers will. A digital TDS meter (or EC = electrical conductivity meter) is an incredibly useful tool for monitoring the nutrient levels of nutrient solution, and will pay for itself before you know it. They run about $40 and up.

General Feeding Tips - Pot plants are very adaptable, but a general rule of thumb is to use more nitrogen & less phosphorous during the vegetative period, and the exact opposite during the flowering period. For the veg. period try a N:K ratio of about 10:7:8 (which of course is the same ratio as 20:14:16), and for flowering plants, 4:8:8. Check the pH after adding nutrients. If you use a reservoir, keep it circulating and change it every 2 weeks. A general guideline for TDS levels is as follows:
seedlings = 50-150 ppm; unrooted clones = 100-350 ppm; small plants = 400-800 ppm; large plants = 900-1800 ppm; last week of flowering = taper off to plain water. These numbers are just a guideline, and many factors can change the actual level the plants will need. Certain nutrients are "invisible" to TDS meters, especially organics, so use TDS level only as an estimate of actual nutrient levels. When in doubt about a new fertilizer, follow the fertilizer's directions for feeding tomatoes. Grow a few tomato or radish plants nearby for comparison.

PH - The pH of water after adding any nutrients should be around 5.9-6.5 (in rockwool, 5.5-6.1). Generally speaking, the micro-nutrients (Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu) get locked out at a high pH (alkaline) above 7.0, while the major nutrients (N, P, K, Mg) can be less available in acidic soil or water (below 5.0). Tap water is often too alkaline. Soils with lots of peat or other organic matter in them tend to get too acidic, which some dolomite lime will help fix. Soil test kits vary in accuracy, and generally the more you pay the better the accuracy. For the water, color-based pH test kits from aquarium stores are inexpensive, but inaccurate. Invest in a digital pH meter ($40-80), preferably a waterproof one. You won't regret it.

excert taken from Nutrient Disorder Problem Solver by Jackersparckle
Added by: MedMan Last edited by: snoofer Viewed: 429 times Rated by 82 users: 9.41/10
Nutrient Disorder Problem Solver
Contributed by: Jackersparckle

tutorial i have layn around

 

[Guest423]

1/3 perlite, 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 earthworm castings....can't ever go wrong and it's simple

 

[Closet Funk]

The first soil I ever used was some stuff called Jungle Grow. It was some nice soil but I can't find it anywhere. The nursery I got it from went out of business. The only thing I didn't like about it was it was kind of barky but other then that it was great soil. I still haven't really found a soil yet I really like alot. Maybe go with someting from Fox Farms, it's already mixed up and you really don't need to add nothing but maybe some lime and perlite.

 

[soilboy]

I've been at it for quite a while, and tried organics, but for some reason never got the same potency/smell/taste as I did with Gen Hydro Flora nutes. (Flushed well) I use either Sunshine #4 or Promix mixed with maybe 10-20 percent perlite with a small amount of worm castings. For food, during veg I give them maybe 5ml-5ml-5ml (g-m-b) then up to 10-10-5, then 15-10-5, using plain water every other time. Then for flower, it's 2.5-8-16 with 20 ml of Diamond Nectar. Use this until week 4, then it's 0-5-20 and plain water the last week or two...

the using plain water every other time really helped me....

Peace
Soilboy

 

[highonthechroni]

remember BigBadStoner, some of these mixes are for organics/chemical only.

 

[Guest]

Fox Farm Ocean Forset Mix is the ultimate soil for any level of grower. If you want to have more control over your plants nute schedule then go with Fox Farm Light Warrior mix... You must fertilize after first week of transplant with Light Warrior.